South Vietnamese forces abandon the nation’s fourth largest city – Qui Nhon, to the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong.

President Ford says that the military crisis in South Vietnam is in part a result of weakened morale in Saigon’s armed forces caused by U.S. congressional refusal to appropriate more money for arms.

North Vietnamese troops smash into the coastal headquarters city of Nha Trang. Forcing South Vietnamese defenders to abandon the key provincial capital. Also overrun: Tuy Hoa.

With troops of President Nguyen Van Thieu giving up more than three-fourths of their homeland without a fight, the South Vietnamese Senate calls for a new leadership to end the war. Meantime, Communist forces sweep toward Saigon – with fighting reported just 38 miles east of the city.

President Ford says the he has the authority to send American troops to South Vietnam if necessary to save the lives of American citizens endangered by advancing Communist forces.

President Ford orders the National Security Council staff to begin preparing options for U.S. action in dealing with the military disaster in South Vietnam.

President Nguyen Van Thieu said the United States must honor its pledges of aid to South Vietnam or be guilty of betraying an ally.

In Quincy MA – Sen. Edward Kennedy is jostled and poked by angry antibusing demonstrators as he tried to elbow his way through a crowd to his car outside a school where he had given a speech. The demonstrators would not let Kennedy get to his automobile. Aids and policemen had to encircle him and link arms as they walked briskly several blocks to a subway station. The crowd of about 300 followed, shouting and waving pickets ripped from fences.

Passing – President Chiang Kai-Shek (87) of Nationalist China – last of the original Big Four Allied leaders of WWII.

Fascinating Business news – April 1, 1975

Overdose of Cocaine - Keith Johnson (25), heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune dies alone in his Ft. Lauderdale apartment with a blue belt tied loosely around his forearm and a sack of cocaine nearby.

Music news – April 1, 1975

There are now three versions of the “Tommy.” There’s the original by The Who, the soundtrack of the movie and an orchestrated album by Lou Reizner.

RTR Productions is seeking investors for a “Woodstock II.”

Rolling Stone magazine reports that the ABC’s “In Concert” is in trouble and may be canceled. Or it may be reduced to a limited run. “In Concert” was the first network attempt in placing rock on the forefront. Don Kirshner, the show’s first producer, wanted a simulation of the rock concert atmosphere. When Dick Clark took over as producer in 1973 the flavor changed. More acts, split segments – but it looked less like a concert.

Freddie Fender says six months ago, he was a mechanic doing dates on weekends and taking college credits at night. Now, he has a monster hit – first on the country charts – now on the pop charts “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.”